Fadnavis expresses concern over Deonar fire

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday expressed concern about the fire at Mumbai's Deonar dumping ground which led to a heavy layer of smog covering the eastern part of the state capital, and called for "scientific disposal" of garbage.

Noting that the fire released hazardous gases and increased the pollution levels, Fadnavis said if proper preventive measures were not taken, our cities could resemble gas chambers. "The situation could be similar to what was done by Hitler (whose regime built the infamous gas chambers for killing the people)," he said, speaking at a function here.

The concept of 'smart city' implied proper functioning of all the systems ensuring proper administration, he said. Pune is one among the 20 cities selected for the first batch of smart city project. "Smart city doesn't mean only Wi-Fi... Various technologies are needed to be employed to make the services more efficient to meet the criteria of smart cities," he added.